Preparing Your Home & Property for the Next Earthquake Sean OMara, Department of Emergency Management Ron Tom/Mike Mitchell, Department of Building Inspection May 11, 2015 1 S VanNess Avenue, 2 nd Floor Atrium Conference Room
Agenda Overview of DEM & DBI Disaster Cycle and Your Role Mitigate Prepare Respond Recover Q & A 2
The Disaster Cycle MITIGATE RECOVER CITY & DBI s ROLE PREPARE RESPOND 3
Department of Emergency Management (DEM) We manage everyday and not-so-every day emergencies in San Francisco: Emergency Services: We help San Francisco prepared for any emergency and we coordinate response and recovery. Emergency Communications (9-1-1): When people in San Francisco have police, fire, or medical emergency our dispatchers are the first people they call. Homeland Security Grant Management: We manage homeland security priorities for the San Francisco Bay Area. 4
What does DEM do? We manage everyday and not-so-every day emergencies in San Francisco: San Francisco s Emergency Communications Center (9-1-1) answers more than 1.1 million calls per year. Emergency Services: We help San Francisco prepared for any emergency and we coordinate response and recovery. Emergency Communications (9-1-1): When people in San Francisco have police, fire, or medical emergency our dispatchers are the first people they call. Homeland Security Grant Management: We manage homeland security priorities for the San Francisco Bay Area. 5
What does DEM do? We manage everyday and not-so-every day emergencies in San Francisco: BA UASI includes 12 regional governments and more than 100 cities with 7.5 million people. Emergency Services: We help San Francisco prepared for any emergency and we coordinate response and recovery. Emergency Communications (9-1-1): When people in San Francisco have police, fire, or medical emergency our dispatchers are the first people they call. Homeland Security Grant Management: We manage homeland security priorities for the San Francisco Bay Area. 6
Whole Community Government Emergency Plans Continuity of Government Risk Awareness Response Coordination Personal preparedness Neighborhood preparedness School preparedness Public Business Continuity of Operations Community Involvement Insurance 7
Department of Building Inspection (DBI) Emergency Preparedness Coordination DBI Emergency Operations Plan Conduct training as Disaster Service Workers Specialized training for Safety Assessment Program Building Occupancy Resumption Program (BORP) 8
Mitigation: DBI s Programs Programs Parapet Safety Program (1972) Unreinforced Masonry (1989) Buildings Program (1992) Soft Story Retrofit Program (2014) Voluntary seismic retrofit 9
Mitigation: Building Occupancy Resumption Program (BORP) Allows building owners to arrange for private post-earthquake inspection Requires contracting with qualified engineers Includes a building-specific inspection plan Deputizes engineers to post buildings after quake 10
72 HOURS In a serious emergency, city services will be impacted, so a basic rule of thumb is to be able to take care of each other for 72 hours before help arrives. 11
What You Can Do to Prepare 12
What You Can Do to Prepare Discuss all possible exit routes from each room, building and neighborhood Decide where you will reunite after a disaster. Conduct emergency drills and practice DROP, COVER and HOLD Always keep your car s gas tank at least half full www.sfdbi.org San Francisco Department of Building Inspection 1660 Mission Street, San Francisco CA 94103 Phone: 415-558-6088 13
Preparedness: Property Owner How can I prepare my property? Owner hires a civil or structural engineer to develop a plan/report identifying how occupants can safely enter the building to remove their possessions. Owner hires contractor whose staff retrieve possessions for the tenants. 14
Structural Home/Building Preparedness Evaluate your structure Underlying soil conditions Age and type of construction Structural /connection condition Remodeling impact Investigate retrofit options Compare retrofit costs with insurance premiums 15
Bolt Sill to Foundation Using Square Plate Washers Square plate washers perform better in quakes than the round one that has been replaced here. They also make the tightening of expansion bolts easier. Plate washers must be a minimum of 2 x 2 x 3/16 thick 16
Strengthen Cripple Walls A cripple wall is generally the weakest part of older building because it has insufficiently strong sheathing materials. This can cause full or partial collapse in an earthquake. These areas can be strengthened for relatively low cost by correctly applying plywood sheathing to the cripple walls. First Floor Crawl Space Cripple Wall 17
Non-Structural Mitigation Parapets Chimneys Water heaters Light fixtures Furniture Cabinets Appliances Electronics 18
Preparing Your Home: Water Heater Earthquake strapping of water heaters California law requires your water heater be properly braced so it won t tip over in an earthquake Source of water during emergency 19
Preparing Your Home: Smoke Alarms Be sure your home s street number is visible from the street, so emergency vehicles can find you. Install a smoke alarm in each sleeping room Provide a smoke alarm outside of each sleeping area Install a smoke alarm on each additional living level. Keep at least one ABC type fire extinguisher on each level of your home. 20
Response: City/At-Large Early Stages Evacuating/extracting people from buildings Route recovery/traffic control Mitigation of immediate public hazards Restoration of critical services Lighting of field work sites Debris clearance Inspection of critical facilities 21
DBI s Response Coordinate with DPW for inspection of critical facilities and City buildings Supervise inspection of private buildings Verify red-tagged building status Re-inspect buildings under construction Issue emergency repair permits Inspect earthquake building repairs 72 hour window 22
DBI Manages Safety Assessment 23
Resident s Response Listen to public messaging (KCBS/KGO radio) If safe to do so, stay at property Check in with neighbors Call 911 only for emergencies Carry out preparedness plan 24
Utilities: Natural Gas Train family to turn off utilities, if necessary Teach children to identify the smell of gas Turn off gas, if: you smell leaks & are unsure your meter wheels are spinning Be aware that you may not have service for weeks 25
Utilities: Electricity Turn off electricity, if: you smell gas leaks wires are broken walls are badly damaged 26
Turn circuit breakers to OFF position 27
Or pull fuses 28
Utilities: Water Turn off water if house is flooding or if water is contaminated Shut Off Water, If Necessary Locate water shutoff Insert tool in hole & remove cover Turn water OFF 29
Road to Recovery Rapid organized response by DBI to conduct building damage assessment post event Request for Mutual Aid to augment DBI personnel as approved by the Mayor Timely processing of repair permits DBI inspection of damage repairs Swift resumption of new construction plan review and inspection 30
Remind Yourself Drill with your family at least once a year; earthquake anniversaries are good reminders Maintain first aid and other emergency skills Check family emergency supplies, replenish them as needed 31
Visit Us Online www.alertsf.org www.sfdbi.org/earthquake-preparedness www.sfdbi.org/softstory www.sf72.org www.sf-fire.org www.sfgov.org/sffdnert www.businessportal.sfgov.org www.redcrossbayarea.org www.sfsafe.org 32